COVID-19 Vaccine: Research Is Important, but Production Is Also a Challenge

Domestic Vaccine Self-Sufficiency Rate Only Half
Mass Production Facilities Must Be Prepared in Advance
Government Considering Utilization of Andong and Hwasun Factories

Lee Ui-kyung, Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, visited SK Bioscience, which is developing a COVID-19 vaccine, on the 7th to inspect the laboratories and other facilities.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Although the entire world is focusing on vaccine research due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), there are still many challenges to be addressed in development, production, and supply going forward. The research phase, which involves creating antibodies that can fight the virus inside our bodies and finding substances with minimal side effects for verification, is difficult, but it is also necessary to prepare in advance for prioritizing between countries and allocating limited resources within a country during the large-scale manufacturing and supply process.

Securing Production Facilities Key Beyond Research and Development

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and related industries on the 19th, the domestic self-sufficiency rate for currently developed vaccines is only about half. Some vaccines such as hepatitis B and multivalent vaccines can be produced domestically, but a significant number, including pneumococcal and BCG vaccines, rely 100% on imports. The total annual domestic vaccine production is about 500 billion KRW, of which about 60% is used domestically and the rest is exported. The domestic pharmaceutical industry imports more finished products or bulk materials than it exports.

In the case of vaccines, the egg-based culture method has mainly been used in the past, but since the 2000s, the cell culture method developed mainly by SK Bioscience has also been employed. Egg-based culture has been used for decades, so it is highly safe and production costs are not high, but facilities for using fertilized eggs must be supported, making large-scale production at once difficult. It also has the disadvantage of vulnerability to unexpected variables such as avian influenza. The cell culture method allows rapid mass production, but initial development costs and facility investments are considerable.

As securing production facilities is considered crucial in the future, the government is preparing in various ways, including prioritizing the use of factories currently under preparation as vaccine facilities. The Animal Cell Validation Support Center in Andong, Gyeongbuk, and the Microbial Validation Support Center in Hwasun, Jeonnam, are scheduled to be established by the end of this year and the end of next year, respectively. If a COVID-19 vaccine is developed in the future, these will be used as production facilities, and related ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy are discussing this. These factories were originally part of projects promoted since 2016 with influenza, chickenpox, pneumonia, and cervical cancer vaccines in mind. If COVID-19 vaccine research shows results, companies without production facilities will also be able to produce. Plans to start operations from 2021 have been advanced, and comprehensive support is underway.

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo participated in the World Health Organization Assembly held on the 18th via video conference.

“Vaccines Are Public Goods” Emphasized but Realization Uncertain

At the World Health Organization (WHO) General Assembly held on the 18th, President Moon Jae-in stated in a speech that the COVID-19 vaccine to be developed in the future "should be distributed equitably worldwide as a public good for humanity," because the opposite is highly likely. Although funds for vaccine development have been created by private foundations and international organizations and joint research is active, it is difficult to guarantee smooth international cooperation even after vaccine development.

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, pharmaceutical companies proposed prices up to four times higher than the government had expected. There was an incident where Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi, the world's largest vaccine developer, announced that after developing a COVID-19 vaccine, priority supply would be given to the United States, which funded the development, but retracted the statement after global criticism. This background leads those inside and outside the pharmaceutical industry not to dismiss such possibilities entirely. Even if a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, mass supply in a short period will be difficult like general synthetic drugs, so prioritization in supply is inevitable.

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo said in a keynote speech at the WHO General Assembly that "We must unite policy will to ensure that the vaccine and therapeutic development led by WHO results in sufficient supply of vaccines and therapeutics at reasonable prices for all."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.